Miami Caliente sizzles in lingerie football

Above: Jim Winters from Nikon Miami could not stop bragging after he took this titillating photo.

To the politically correct eye, the Lingerie Football League might come across as blatant sexism.

After all, the female players are required to wear skimpy outfits, which sometimes lead to wardrobe malfunctions as in the above photo (Miami is in blue).

Plus, most of the women on the Miami Caliente team could easily be models, cheerleaders or beer commercial props. They are not exactly butchy.

But once they take the field, any expectations of daintiness disappears. The women play just as hard as men, if not harder.

“You’re going to get hurt because football is a tough sport,” said Taira Turley, who plays center and middle-linebacker.  “I’ve gotten injured in the last two games but I’ve managed to get past my injuries and play the game with my injuries. You just have to be tough.”

And tough they are. The Miami Caliente has gotten into at least two brawls against other teams during the first three games of the season, where they are currently 2-1.

Their next game is not until January 22 against the Tampa Breeze in the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise.

And they are predicting they will win the Lingerie Bowl, the league’s championship game, which will be played at halftime during the NFL’s Super Bowl on Feb. 7, 2010 in Miami.

“We’re bringing the championship home to Miami,” said quarterback Anonka Dixon during a recent interview.

And considering she can throw the ball 60 yards down the field and has more moves than a South Beach hustler, it is not hard to believe.

“I grew up playing football since I was six years old,” said Dixon, who grew up in Miami alongside Miami Hurricane and NFL players like Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport and Darnell Jenkins.

In the Caliente’s last game against the New York Mutiny, Dixon dazzled the home audience from her very first pass by connecting with Tina Caccavale for a 25-yard touchdown.

By the end of the first half, Miami was up 22-0. And by the end of the game, the scoreboard read 49-7.

New York’s Krystal Gray was so frustrated that she started throwing punches against several Miami players, resulting in bench-clearing brawl that last several minutes. Gray ended up suspended for one game as a result.

Despite the sheer aggressiveness of the game, the women love it. But only a select few are able to make the team.

“I tried out for the team but did not make it but I am going to try out again,” said Agustina Prigoshin, a 26-year-old football fan from Miami.

Prigoshin said the tryout lasted for a grueling 90 minutes and they were made to run routes and sprints and do calisthenics.

Lingerie football is played on a 50-yard field with no sidelines, which means the woman frequently bang each other against the sideboards as in a hockey game. Sometimes they wind up in the stands, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

They are encouraged to mingle with the fans and they do a good job of that, happily posing with hordes of male and female fans.

And I’ll be the first to admit, they’re much more photogenic than your average NFL player.

Prigoshin doesn’t see the game as sexist as much as she sees it an opportunity to prove they can play just as good as men.

“This is a sport dominated by men, so if you can get women involved, it’s a good thing,” she said.

“We might not be able to hit as hard as men, but we can hold our own.”

Above: Agustina Prigoshin in the red shorts and brown tank top tries out for the team, only to be denied. She will try again however.

Related Categories: Miscellaneous, Carlos Miller is a featured writer at Miami Beach 411. He also operates Photography is Not a Crime, a blog about photographer rights, New Media and First Amendment issues. See more articles by Carlos Miller. See more articles by Carlos Miller Was This Post Helpful? Please Share It With Others! Tweet

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